Politics is the art of destroying one’s enemies and rewarding one’s friends. By this standard, the Bush regime is the most capable administration in American history. Bush and his fellows have shown time and again that they have sharp elbows and can be cold-blooded political street-fighters. The “Swift-boating” of John Kerry, Dan Rather and Joseph Wilson are just a few of the more familiar examples. Each was singled out as a potential rival by high-ranking members of the administration and summarily drawn-and-quartered by assassins in the far-right media.

The unexpected sacking of 8 US Attorneys is another example of the administration’s astonishing proficiency at destroying its enemies, although the attorneys in question were not the “real targets” per se. The purpose of the firings was to use the justice system to conduct personal attacks on members of the Democratic leadership either by indicting them prior to elections or challenging the results of recent balloting. The intention was to strengthen the “one party” system of Karl Rove’s dreams.

This, of course, is a much more serious charge than “outing” a CIA agent (Valerie Plame) or slandering a decorated veteran. (John Kerry) It is a direct attack on the two-party system and the foundations of democratic government.

Paul Krugman gives a good explanation of how this works in
his latest article “Department of Injustice”. Krugman recalls how New
Jersey US Attorney “issued subpoenas in connection with allegations of
corruption on the part of Democratic Senator Bob Menendez, two months
before the 2006 election”. The news of the subpoenas was quickly leaked
to local news media. It was a deliberate and obvious attempt to
manipulate the upcoming election by putting Menendez under a cloud of
criminal indictment. If it had worked, Republicans would have held the
majority in the Senate and the same trends in authoritarian legislation
would have persisted for the next two years.

Congressional investigations last week indicate that other US Attorneys
haveexperienced similar “politically motivated” meddling designed to
crush the Democratic Party by decapitating the leadership. It’s clear
that the administration’s maneuverings are an essential part of their
strategy to maintain a permanent GOP “lock on power”.

This is serious business. Watergate pales in comparison. Karl Rove is
actively sabotaging the democratic process by stacking the US Attorneys
office with Bush foot-soldiers.

Attorney General Gonzales has denied charges that politics played any
part in the recent firings, but Krugman proves otherwise. Since Bush
took office in 2000, US Attorney’s across the nation have investigated
298 Democrats, but only 67 Republicans. Clearly the office is being
used to carry out personal vendettas to remove Democrats from power and
fortify a one party system; the Rove Reich.

Krugman also adds thisrevealing detail from the Rovian chronicle which further strengthens his thesis:

“Let's not forget that Karl Rove's candidates have a history of
benefiting from conveniently timed federal investigations. Last year
Molly Ivins reminded her readers of a curious pattern during Mr. Rove's
time in Texas: "In election years, there always seemed to be an F.B.I.
investigation of some sitting Democrat either announced or leaked to
the press. After the election was over, the allegations often
vanished.’"

Over the years, Rove has perfected the politics of personal destruction
and transformed it into an art-form. It’s clear now that the Gonzales 8
were tossed overboard because they clung to their standards and refused
to become political henchmen for the gangsters at 1600 Pennsylvania
Ave. We can assume that the new appointees are neither true
conservatives nor traditional Republicans but, rather,party loyalists
who will faithfully execute directives from the Bush Politburo.

Alas, the Bush regime is not in the business of governing at all,but
politics. And, once again, they've proved that they’re damn good at it.

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